Lynn Goldsmith. Patti Smith. Before Easter After. Art Edition No. 1–100 ‘NYC, 1977’

Before Easter After

Lynn Goldsmith and Patti Smith

One of music’s most distinguished photographers and one of its most revered artists, Lynn Goldsmith and Patti Smith first collaborated in the mid-1970s. What followed was an intimate visual survey of a transformative Smith by a photographer whose images have since immortalized a golden era of rock ’n’ roll history.

Before Easter After documents a defining period in Smith’s career through Goldsmith’s probing and empathetic lens. Riding on the critical success of Horses, Smith released the uncompromising Radio Ethiopia and, just two years later, Easter—her most successful and controversial album. Edging toward her concrete post in history, yet free of an established public identity, Goldsmith provided what Smith calls “an atmosphere where I could be myself, unleash my own potential.”

In 1978, Goldsmith went on the road with The Patti Smith Group. She documented formative nights at CBGBs and was there during an accidental stage fall in Tampa, Florida, where Smith broke several vertebrae in her neck. It was during Smith’s recovery that they shot the cover of Easter and its breakthrough single “Because the Night.” Goldsmith’s studio shoots with Smith capture the enormous contradictions between ideals of strength and beauty, and are testament to Goldsmith’s unique ability to draw out both the cool and the spirit of her subjects.

With hundreds of unseen photographs, the book also features an introduction, lyrics, poetry, and text by Smith that reflect her own interpretations of this watershed period in her life. Before Easter After pays tribute to an influential creative partnership between Goldsmith and Smith that continues to this day, and serves as fresh proof of the unparalleled talents of two greats who have always challenged the rules of rock ‘n’ roll.

This Art Edition comes with the print NYC, 1977, signed by Goldsmith. “This is from the photo session we did for the album cover of Easter. Patti always allowed for the serendipity of the process. With her, I did not have to interpret the inner persona of my subject as I often felt was my job to do in portraiture. She wore hers openly. We trusted one another. I let myself be guided by that feeling of trust as to when to release the shutter,” said Goldsmith.

Art Edition (No. 1–100), each numbered and signed by Patti Smith and Lynn Goldsmith, with the print NYC, 1977, signed by Goldsmith.

Also available in a second Art Edition with an alternative signed print (No. 101–200) and as a signed Collector’s Edition (No. 201–1,500).